MORE international visitors came to Canberra in the year ending March 2013 than in any single year over the past decade, according to the latest figures.

From March 2012 to March 2013, the capital received 177,093 people from overseas, an increase of 9.2 per cent on the year before and the best result for any year since 2002.

In comparison, international visitors to Australia as a whole only increased by 4.9 per cent over the same period.

They come to study or to visit family members at university, for business or just to have a look around, and they spent $388 million, $45 million more than the previous year.

According to a survey conducted by Tourism Research Australia, the ACT’s large increase was driven partly by people visiting friends and relatives, whose numbers went up by 11.9 per cent and spiked particularly in the first quarter of this year.

Canberra had 8 per cent more holidaymakers over the year and the number of people coming for “other purposes including education and employment” increased by 12.1 per cent.

According to the survey, 12.1 per cent of Canberra’s international visitors come from China and 11.8 per cent are from the USA, while people from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong made up 10.7 per cent, followed by 9.6 per cent from the United Kingdom and 8 per cent from New Zealand.

The ACT Government is still trying to attract direct international flights to Canberra Airport, first focusing on New Zealand with Singapore up next, and has committed half a million dollars in the 2013-14 Budget to the task.

A statement from Ms Gallagher’s office says the funding will support “a new international marketing campaign to complement new direct international flights when they begin by promoting Canberra as a tourism and leisure destination”.

“Direct flights to Singapore are being considered by airlines, while a business case for flights to Singapore is being prepared,” the statement says.